Traffic, including a Metro bus, was stopped Thursday night at a South Los Angeles intersection where drivers performed stunts in front of dozens of onlookers.
The takeover blocked the intersection at Gage and Normandie avenues. Video showed fireworks exploding in the street and a van skidded onto a sidewalk near onlookers.
The damaged truck carrying spare wheels in its rear compartment wobbled and bounced wildly before crashing into a parked vehicle.
Every weekend areas of cities like Los Angeles witness hundreds of underground car races, a phenomenon that was greatly popularized by the “Fast & Furious” (2001) saga.
Traffic was halted at the intersection while drivers waited for it to clear. Daylight showed layers of circular patterns of tire marks on the street and the casing of at least one shredded tire.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was arrested.
Street takeovers have plagued parts of Los Angeles for years.
A recent investigation by the NBC4 I-Team found that street takeovers are happening less in West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley with many moving to the Central and South Los Angeles neighborhoods.
Recently released data on street raids and street racing in Los Angeles shows that the total number of complaints from the public decreased between 2021 and 2022.
The top three locations with the most frequent calls from the public were in South Los Angeles, where there was also a 22% increase in the number of reports of street raids and runs between 2021 and 2022, the data showed.
This story first appeared on Telemundo 52’s sister station, NBCLA. Click here to read this story in English.
